Closet Buddies
by Custom Built
Summary: What if Jenny hadn't gotten away at the end of The Hunter... instead, how about if she got stuck in the closet with Julian?
1. Chapter 1

Hey guys.  
Crazy idea between my friend and I during a study period the other day. Was written in a very small amount of time so sorry for bad grammar.  
The forbidden game, Jenny and (sadly) Julian all belong to L.J.Smith. Technically we don't even own the computer we wrote this story on...  
The story starts at the end of The Hunter and we did borrow a paragraph or two from the book to set the scene (we in no way claim this as our own work).  
We'll probably continue the story depending on interest, so **comments people!**

First chapter is just an introduction of sorts...  
Enjoy!

* * *

Jenny went over to the closet, looked inside. He followed, standing beside her. "I'm sorry," Jenny said quietly, without looking at him. "I'm sorry he did it. He wasn't a bad man." Then she turned. "I can hardly believe he kept you here."  
"Believe it," Julian said grimly.  
Jenny shook her head. "I'll always love him. But he was wrong to do what he did." She stepped into the closet. "Not as small as it looks."  
"Small enough." He stepped in, too, looked around. "This place brings up bad memories."  
"See if we can't make a better one." She smiled up at him, backed against one wall.  
He turned and smiled down at her. In the confined space they were very close. Jenny stood shyly, one leg crossed behind the other.  
He bent hi head again, his mouth warm and demanding. Jenny gave herself up to it, and the kiss opened like a slow-blooming flower. Became so breathless and urgent that Jenny couldn't break it, even though she knew she had to. She kept thinking, Just one more minute, just one more minute…  
It was Julian who pulled back  
"It's rather uncomfortable in here"  
"Do you think so?" She smiled up at him, breath slowing.  
"Definitely."  
"Well, then, I suppose we could – "  
_Now_, she thought.  
In the middle of her sentence she moved. She had been standing in the cross stance, a kung fu stance Dee had taught her. Now, in a split second, she used the power of her left leg to throw her to the right, vaulting out of the closet. In the same motion she slammed shut the door.  
"Nauthiz!" She shouted, slashing an _X_ in the air. 

Or, at least, that was how it should have happened. If not for Julian, as quick as a sticking snake, grabbing Jenny's wrist and pulling her back towards him inside the closet. Jenny stumbled back into Julian's chest and watching out of the corner of her eye as the closet door swung closed on the 2 of them.  
There was a final bang and the room plunged into darkness


	2. Chapter 2

Silence and darkness filled the closet and Jenny sensed, rather than saw, Julian turn to look down at her. "What were you thinking?" His tone was incredulous and at the same time full of barely restrained anger. Jenny could imagine the dangerous expression flashing in his cobalt eyes.  
She shifted uncomfortably, moving to lean against the wall in an attempt to put as much space between them as possible.  
"What did you think you were going to achieve by trying that?" he asked. ' I said if you messed with me I'd always come out on top. You of all people should know that." He turned away and reached out to grab the handle of the door.  
Jenny didn't answer. She couldn't answer. She had tried her hardest. There was nothing more she could do. The silence stretched out...  
"fuck!"  
Jenny jumped in shock and opened her eyes, still seeing nothing in the darkness. Then the sounds of the door handle being rattled registered and suddenly the room seemed even smaller than it had a second ago.  
"What did you yell as you tried to get out, Jenny?" Julian asked. His voice, strangely calm, managed to trigger panic inside her.  
"Um... "  
"Tell me. I need to know!" He was leaning over her now. Jenny closed her eyes and sighed.  
"Nauthiz..."  
"Shit shit shit shit shit!"  
Jenny heard a massive bang, which sounded like Julian had just punched the door. "Well I hope you're happy. Welcome to my world!"  
Jenny slid down the wall and sat on the floor in the corner. Head resting on the cool plaster beside her, she tried to control her breathing. Admittedly Jenny had never been very fond of small spaces and, in light of the current situation, it was a fear she didn't really need to deal with right now.  
The minutes ticked past in silence.  
Jenny didn't dare move from where she was sitting. Julian's aura was radiating menace and it wasn't as though there was anywhere else she could go.  
With nothing else to do she started to think quite seriously about their situation. There was no food, no water and it was pitch black. Obviously this wasn't going to pose as much of an issue to Julian, but what was she to do? Spending eternity in a closet wasn't really high on her list of priorities, let alone dying of starvation in one.  
She started to think of possible ways they could get free, but it was no use. Her level of knowledge when it came to the supernatural was pretty pathetic and besides, Jenny reasoned, if there was a trick way to get out the shadowmen would have used it years ago.  
Then it struck her, the one thing that was different to when the shadowmen had been trapped. Dee and the others might still be up in the More Games store!  
Jenny jumped up and started pounding on the door, shouting. If only she could get them to hear her then they could come down and open the door!  
"TOM! DEE! ZACH!" She screamed as loud as she could and kicking the door as hard as humanely possible, desperate, frantic to get out of the confined space.  
"They're not going to hear you." Julian's voice cut through her frenzied noise. A part in the back of Jenny's mind registered that at some point he had moved to stand at the back of the closet.  
"It's part of the restraint. No sound comes in, no sound goes out."  
For some reason this news pushed Jenny's pent up emotional frustration over the edge. She dropped to the floor, sitting knees cuddled up to her chest and began to weep.  
This was ridiculous. C.S. Lewis was severely misguided in thinking that wardrobes led to great places, Jenny thought bitterly and said so to Julian, momentarily forgetting the dangerous mood he had been in before. This received a small laugh from Julian as he sat opposite from her legs stretched across the floor, clearly displaying one of his mercurial mood changes.

"Well… what do we do now?" He asked.

* * *

A/N:  
But really... what are they going to do now?  
will continue if you like the idea... let us know. 


	3. Chapter 3

Okay guys… Just so you know this story is not pre-planned in any way!  
We have as little idea as to what is going to happen as you do  
(except maybe how it's going to end… sort of).

enjoy…

* * *

"Well… what do we do now?" He asked.

Jenny sniffed and leaned against the wall thankful, for once, for the darkness. Not that she was even sure the pitch black gloom prevented Julian from seeing everything around him. The air inside the closet was slightly stuffy and warm and it made Jenny feel drowsy and realise how exhausted she was. She yawned.

" I have no idea."

The adrenaline was finally wearing off and she was completely wasted after hours and hours of running for her life. Emotionally, Jenny simply wanted to curl up into a ball and let the ground swallow her up.

Again quiet settled heavily over the small space, both occupants deep in their own thoughts, concerns, and frustration. Fidgeting nervously, Jenny ran her hands along the cool concrete floor. The darkness emphasized by the silence stretched out, surrounding her and closing her in. She wanted to make a noise, to break the deafening silence, but couldn't. It held the sigh in her throat, leaving her choking on the silence before giving up.

Jenny's fingers continued to trail their pointless circles on the floor unconsciously. Sliding across the smooth ground until suddenly they slipped beneath something and she started. It felt like the gap beneath the door, but if there was a gap beneath the door then why wasn't the light from the basement coming through?

On hands and knees she twisted to get a better view, momentarily distracted from everything else. She scrutinized the gap carefully and saw… nothing.

Darkness…

It was a bizarre feeling knowing that rationally there should be light streaming beneath the door and yet, instead, all she could see was a continual expanse of the darkness everywhere else.

Unsettled, Jenny sat up, determined to turn her mind to other thoughts and couldn't help but turn to the only other handy source of intrigue.

She focused on Julian across from her.

While the sound of her own breathing echoed in the silence, Julian made no noise. There was scarcely any indication that he was there at all. If not for the electric feeling of his presence hovering over her skin, she could very easily have assumed she was alone.

She wondered what he was thinking.

Was he remembering the last time he was here? Recounting the long hours of confinement? Last time he had been the weakest one trapped. Now he had Jenny with him.

She felt the panic start rising again. What if he chose to take his frustration and boredom out on her! It wasn't as though she could do anything about it.

Maybe she wouldn't end up having to worry about starving to death after all. Maybe she wouldn't last that long…

No, he wouldn't do that to her. He had proven to her that he couldn't bring himself to hurt her, that he'd do anything for her. However his nature had often proved otherwise. The way he had treated her friends. The game itself. If anything, the game had shown Jenny that Julian didn't always approach things in the most rational of ways, the predictable ways.

She shifted in the darkness, slumping into the corner and curled into something resembling a ball. It was incredibly uncomfortable but Jenny was too exhausted to care. She tucked her feet in close to put as much distance between her and Julian… just in case.

She wondered if Tom, Dee and the others had left when they could, or if they'd stayed and were still stuck upstairs in the More Games store. Maybe they were still up there wondering what was going to happen next like she was. Maybe they'd get curious enough to come downstairs and find the closet. She could only hope.

Oh Tom, the thought of Tom made her want to cry.

That she had got him into this mess. All she'd wanted to do was celebrate his birthday.

She loved him so much…

It was hardly fair, she thought to herself as she rested her head back and closed her eyes.

--

When Jenny opened her eyes there was no gentle transition as her mind was dumped abruptly into the realities of her current situation. Greeted by the stuffy air of the closet and a tight cramp pulling down her neck and into her shoulders, Jenny grimaced and stretched. Pulling herself out the corner she was so unceremoniously slumped in and reaching her arms above her head in a futile attempt to lessen the tension in her neck.

"Ah, she wakes."

Jenny jumped as Julian's musical voice cut through the darkness. "Hmmff", being all response he got.

Shakily Jenny stood up and stretched out her legs. Stumbling as they almost gave way beneath her and hitting her elbow on the door - or wall – she couldn't tell.

"Aaargh!" Jenny clutched her wounded arm and swore profusely in every language Audrey had taught her to.

"Stupid fucking darkness! Fucking closet!"

As the pain subsided she tried to calm down, leaning her forehead against the cool wall. She could hear Julian laughing quietly at her.

"Sadist." She muttered under her breath.  
"What was that?" she heard him shift, but as far as she could tell he was still sitting on the floor. She clenched her mouth shut, unsure as to how his mercurial attitudes would react.

He sighed and then really did stand up.

"Maybe this will improve your mood."

She heard him whisper something and suddenly the room as illuminated by a small light flickering in his palm. Forgetting her pain, Jenny stared at him an incredulous expression on her face.

He was standing, relaxed, in the middle of the closet, palms held out a little way in front of him. Jenny looked from the glowing flame in his hands up to his face. He was grinning at her wolfishly; clearly pleased at the reaction he could see plastered all over her face. The small flame cast an unholy glow around him, his piercing blue eyes flickering. It was definitely a beautiful sight to see after hours of pitch black.

And she hated herself for appreciating it so much.

"You've been able to do that all along…" she trailed off. Now that there was light she couldn't help but be drawn into the sculpted perfection of his features. The contrast of the shadows and light creating a breathtaking sight. Struggling to break her gaze from his face Jenny turned to examine their surroundings. They hadn't changed at all.

"So how come you can make things 'poof' like that, but you can't get us out of here?"

He sighed tiredly; Jenny was unnerved by the very helpless, human expression.

"Because,' He stated logically as if explaining a complicated concept to a small child, "This isn't affecting anything. I can still work with small things. It's when I use 'magic' against the restraint that it won't work."

Jenny nodded, not really understanding, but trusting Julian's judgment on the matter. Suddenly her stomach rumbled, the noise breaking the silence. Jenny looked down, holding her hands over her tummy embarrassedly.

"You don't think you could 'poof' some food for me could you?"

* * *

A/N:

We hate Tom.

So does Jenny, only she doesn't know it yet.

He should die a slow and painful death.

Until that time, we had to give him a small of a sob session ( small being the operative word ) so that we could get it out of the way.

Now we can move on to better and greater things… JULIAN XD


	4. Chapter 4

Wow guys, thank you seriously for the comments.  
It's all very encouraging.

Sorry for the delay.

School and overseas trips do that to you.

Hoorah!

--

"You don't think you could 'poof' some food for me could you?"

Julian laughed and raised an elegant eyebrow at her mockingly.  
"And why should I do that for you? After all, you are the one who got us stuck in this mess."  
The fact that he was grinning mischievously was the only thing reassuring Jenny that he wasn't entirely serious. Maybe it was the surreal edge to the whole situation or she was just feeling incredibly restless, because suddenly she felt very bold.  
"Because," Jenny took a step forward, pointing at him to emphasize her words jokingly. "You love me."

He looked at her, head tilted slightly, his long fringe falling across his face.

"Yes, what of it?" His eyes sparkled tauntingly and Jenny stared at the figure before her, momentarily taken back in awe. In the flickering light cast by the flame, Julian looked completely mischievous and playful yet dangerous, and entirely unearthly. Jenny could see where the stories of Loki, of Púka, of Huehuecoyotl, of the monster under her bed, came from. Jenny blinked back to reality. Her stomach, obviously not caring whose presence she was in, rumbled again breaking her from her thoughts.

"You wouldn't let me starve, would you?" She looked up at him with mock puppy-dog eyes.

Still smiling he let go of the flame and it floated above their heads by the roof of the closet. Julian crossed his arms.

"You still owe me for getting us locked in here."

"No way," Jenny shook her head. "That was pay back for putting us all through this game."

"You chose to play the game willingly." He chuckled to himself. "You really do need to stop messing with things you don't understand. Look where you keep ending up."

Jenny scowled at him, crossing her arms too, and they both stood staring at each other in the middle of the closet.

Jenny was the first one to break, doubling over in laughter at the sight of Julian imitating her scowl back at her.

Julian stared back at her in confusion.

"What?..." Concern started to spread into his expression.  
"Oh, don't tell me you're already going mad from confinement!?"

Slowly Jenny recovered from her laughing fit and turned back to face her company again.

"I'm sure I will go mad if I don't get food any time soon."

Julian just shook his head at her.

"And what have you got to offer me?"

The smile slowly slid from Jenny's face as she began to feel the impossibility of the situation. She knew exactly what he wanted, and considering their current situation, she wasn't really in the mood to be so generous.

"I haven't got anything, Julian. Must I remind you that I wasn't really provided with much time to think before I was pulled into the shadow world?"

"Again… This isn't my fault." He spread his hands in a helpless gesture. "It was your call to play with things–"

"I don't understand. I know, I know." Lack of food was starting to make Jenny irritable. She'd been running for her life for the past eight hours and now lack of sleep and food was starting to exhaust her patience.

"But if you hadn't offered me the game, if you hadn't followed me around for the last 11 years of my life, then I never would have had to have made the decision in the first place. I shouldn't have **had **to make that decision."

She had been gesturing wildly during her small rant and now looked up to see Julian examining her face carefully.

"And if you never opened the door of this closet as a child, if your uncle had never sought more power than he could ever hope to restrain…" Julian trailed off and then he said very quietly, "I never forced you to play this game, Jenny."

Jenny sighed and covered her face with her hands. She was tired, she was sore, she was hungry and all she wanted to do was curl up in a ball on the hard concrete floor and cry – It wouldn't help anything, but there really was nothing else to be done.

Suddenly she felt the electric contact as a hand gently rested on her arm and her eyes flew open to see Julian standing just in front of her.

Jenny stood unmoving for a moment. She could never adjust to the perfection that was Julian, and she stared transfixed by the impossible colour of his eyes.

Then, reaching up with his other hand, Julian gently caressed the side of her face, the light touch making her breath catch in her throat.

Jenny frowned slightly and tilting her head away, closed her eyes trying to bring some semblance of order to her thoughts.

"Julian… stop." She wanted to push him away but she could barely control her arms.

She didn't want to have to deal with this right now. She already had more than enough to handle.

Finally Jenny managed to bring herself to place her hands against his chest and, trying to avoid falling apart at the feel of his smooth muscles beneath her hands, attempted to make him back up.

Her futile efforts though were no better than pushing against a brick wall in the hopes of knocking it over. He didn't move and instead she heard his cool voice whisper in her ear.

"Relax…"

Jenny scoffed at him.

"Relax?" she whispered back incredulously. "How can you expect me to 'Relax' at a time like this?"

However, despite her exasperation, she was finding it harder not to simply give in. Julian's hand continued to caress her face, the other now gently resting around her waist in a loose embrace.

"Because there's nothing else to be done." He whispered, repeating her earlier thoughts and turning them against her.

It was getting harder and harder for her to resist. She truly was too tired. His touch was becoming more and more comforting by the moment.

She allowed her head to rest on his shoulder and Julian slipped his other arm around her waist. They stood there for a moment, Jenny trying to reorganize her thoughts while Julian gently rubbed her back.

The moment was disrupted as Jenny's stomach growled.

Julian laughed quietly, the musical noise echoing faintly of the blank walls of the confined room.

"I suppose we really should get you something to eat."

He leaned back slightly, his arms still around her waist and examined her face. He brushed a strand of hair back from in front of her eyes and grinned.

"So what do you feel like?"

Jenny blinked at him.

"Uh… food?" she really was quite out of it.

Julian's eyes reflected his amusement.

"Fair enough… what type of food? Chinese? Thai? Italian? Indian? What do you feel like eating? Name it and it's yours!"

Jenny smiled.

"A decent sandwich would be fine."

She watched as Julian as he removed one of his hands from her waist and made a small gesture in the empty air beside him. A second later a tray of assorted sandwiches balanced on his hand.

Jenny raised an eyebrow at him.

"Show off." She muttered.

"Oh I'm sorry," he said holding the tray just out of her grasp. "I was under the impression you were incredibly hungry. Maybe I was wrong?"

She laughed. "Hardly!" And, extracting the tray from his grasp she sat on the floor and began to eat.

--

Ok, so everyone got a little bit ooc for this chapter… well the whole story really.

Oh well, we were too busy having fun to realise in time and fix it.

The good news? We now know where we are going with this story! Hoorah!

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Regards,

Custom Built and friend.

P.S. go listen to Uno by Muse.


	5. Chapter 5

Last chapter, guys!

Thanks for the comments along the way.

Usual disclaimers apply – nothing is ours but the plot and fingers we typed it with. The setting, Jenny, P.C., Slug, and Julian all belong to the wonderful L. J. Smith

Enjoy!

_ _ _

Julian sat on the opposite side of the closet occasionally watching Jenny as she dug into the sandwiches enthusiastically.

"Can you please stop that?"

Julian blinked. "Sorry, what?"

Jenny regarded him with a slight frown on her face.

"Can you not stare at me while I'm eating. It's off-putting and really just… down right creepy."

He laughed to himself in the corner.

"Fine," He shrugged, standing up. Then without warning he crossed the closet to sit beside her. "Though maybe you shouldn't sit directly across from me, directly in my line of sight, if you don't want me to look at you."

Jenny glared at him for a minute before finishing off her sandwich.

"You know," she started, breaking the silence that had been building. " You really are impossible."

.:.:.:.

Jenny stood up to stretch her legs. Boredom was starting to set in.

The tapping of her fingers against the wall absently filling the silence that had been left between the two captives.

Julian's eyes constantly followed Jenny as she walked back and forth; her movements fascinating him.

Eventually she came back to the present and noticed his watching her… again.

"So, Mr Shadowman, tell me. What can we do now?"

For a moment she wished that she could take back the question, feeling a small flash of panic as his gaze moved automatically over her lips.

"I'm not so sure what _you_ would want to do." The musical voice replied slowly, "I think maybe you would be better at deciding your own pastimes. I have a feeling that you wouldn't favour mine." He grinned wolfishly. Jenny laughed, regaining confidence and looked down at him.

"Oh, is that so?"

Julian stood up so that it was now he looking down on Jenny. "Am I mistaken?"

There was no raised eyebrow needed, his tone implied it all. Jenny fought the urge to stick her tongue out at him.  
"Well I'm bored! I'm sick of sitting on the floor in a semi-dark closet and I can't think of anything to do."

The flickering of the conjured light played over Julian's smirk.

"Well," he started. "I can think of one thing for us to do. It simply depends on your approval."

Jenny laughed. "My approval?"

Julian gently ran his fingers down the side of her face. "I assure you, it makes for a wonderful pastime."

She smiled up at him with piercing, green eyes.

"Well… maybe you do have a point… this time."

Jenny struggled to organise her thoughts.

"I'm thinking I should let you organise this activity." Julian grinned down at her, meeting her gaze.

"Jenny…" His voice was quiet; dark and mysterious with barely-hidden emotion.

"I _always _have a point, you just don't listen."

Jenny chose to ignore his teasing. Her thoughts, which should have been formulating a clever comeback, already preoccupied with his perfect face filling her vision. She watched, transfixed as he leaned in closer.

Unconsciously Jenny leaned back slightly against the wall behind her. She felt the smooth, cool pressure of a flat surface against her back and was grateful for its support considering that she could barely stand on her own at that moment.

Then Julian raised his hands, gently cupping the sides of her face. The touch was light as a feather, barely there, and yet it still managed to sear through her. The electric shock that always came from such close proximity with Julian. Jenny took a quiet, shuddering breath, her knees felt like they could give way at any minute.

Julian leaned in, his hands tilting her face back. She closed her eyes and felt the warmth of Julian's breath gently brushing her lips.

And then, in a moment, it was gone.

Jenny's eyes flew open as the wonderful warmth from Julian was torn away to be replaced by a falling sensation as the wall slipped out from behind her. Jenny cried out as she fell, Julian's arms failing to support her in his own surprise.

Jenny cringed from the floor rising up to meet her and was surprised when the only solid impact that followed was a muffled _thump. _Until, that is, she looked to see Julian between her and floor. She blushed slightly from the contact and shifted, moving to stand up.

She looked up to the familiar sights of her Grandfather's basement and something slightly more foreign.

There, standing right in front of her, frozen to statues in their surprise were P.C., with mouth wide open, and Slug, his hand unmoved form the doorhandle of the closet.

Jenny blinked at the two boys standing before her unsure what to think. To her it had only been the previous day that they had seemed so very threatening and now, after all she'd been through…

She sensed Julian's presence suddenly standing beside her and a quick glance confirmed her suspicions.

He was way pissed off.

"What are **you** doing here?" He glared down at them and Jenny recognised this as the scary side of him she had never truly seen before.

The boys shrank, visibly under his scrutiny and started to back off, their mouths opening as if to speak, but no sound coming out.

Julian started to stalk towards them, every movement screaming predator, before Jenny came up behind him grabbing his arm.

"Wait Julian!"

Similar to when they'd been in the More Games Store after she'd promised herself, Jenny saw Julian's expression relax as he turned to look down at her.

She glanced from his face to the two terrified figures on the other side of the room now trying to make their way up the stairs and out of the room whilst drawing as little attention as ever.

"I have no idea what they're doing here, or how they ever got here, but you know, they did let us out of the closet."

He sighed. "I suppose they did."

Then, with a flick of his wrist, the two boys disappeared. "I'll deal with them later."

And with that, he resumed his position facing Jenny with his arms resting around her waist.

"Now, about that activity…"

" The one that was assured to be wonderful entertainment?" Jenny turned to place her hands up on his chest.

"The very one."

_ _ _

Aaaaaand, we're finished.

Hope you all enjoyed it

P.S. I secretly wished that Santa would bring me Julian this Christmas.

I even woke up early on Christmas morning but disappointingly all I found was a bunch of wrapped presents, none of which were remotely Julian shaped.

Ah well… I can live in hope.


End file.
